


What's In A Name?

by CrookshanksAgentofOWCA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bella's a little insecure, Bellamort, Consensual Mind-Reading, Evil Love, F/M, Romance, Voldemort is gradually realizing just how in love he is, but in her defense look who she's dating, soft!bellamort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrookshanksAgentofOWCA/pseuds/CrookshanksAgentofOWCA
Summary: Voldemort and Bellatrix are very happy together, but something's just slightly off....
Relationships: Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Voldemort
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	What's In A Name?

**Author's Note:**

> More soft Bellamort content from ME! This is what I do.

It had been a long, busy day and it was time to go to sleep. After they’d washed the blood off their hands and changed into their nightclothes, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort climbed into bed and cuddled up together.

“Goodnight Bellatrix,” Voldemort murmured as his lover let out a huge yawn.

“Goodnight my Lord,” she answered sleepily, already drifting off.

Sleep always came faster to Bellatrix than it did to Voldemort, but he didn’t mind lying awake for a while. It gave him more time to enjoy the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her hair and the steady sound of her breathing.

But tonight, something was bothering him. There was something slightly off about this otherwise perfect scenario. It took him a few minutes to pinpoint what it was. Nothing unusual had happened tonight; he and Bella had been close for a few years now. However, he couldn’t help but repeat in his mind the words they’d said countless times to each other.

 _Goodnight Bellatrix._ He relished saying her name, especially when they were alone and he could say it as affectionately as he wanted without having to fear anyone’s judgment. It was a beautiful, strong name and it suited her perfectly.

 _Goodnight my Lord._ Her reply had been equally affectionate, every syllable brimming with devotion and fondness. But it had still felt somewhat…empty. Not as intimate.

 _I want her to use my name,_ he realized with a jolt. He had still been at Hogwarts when he’d first thought up the name Voldemort—a clever rearranging of the letters in the pathetic name he had been shackled with at birth and it meant “flight from death,” which was precisely his goal. He had been immensely proud of his new name, so proud that he’d eventually banned others from saying it, deciding they were unworthy of such a privilege. Names have power and the more fear they inspired, the more power they had. So as he began his war and declared to all that Lord Voldemort was the future of the Wizarding World, he punished anyone who dared to address him as such. But now, as he gazed at Bellatrix sleeping beside him, he longed to hear her voice say his name. When his enemies spoke it he felt fear and when his subordinates spoke it he felt rage. But Bella was neither. She had _started out_ as a subordinate of course, but although he would never admit it to anyone, she had become much more. If he were ever to consider someone his equal, it would be her.

Bellatrix made him feel things no one else could, not just the pleasant warmth that was currently spreading through his stomach as he ran his fingers through her hair, but fear when she was in danger, even though he knew she could take care of herself and sadness when she wasn’t around. All his life, he had been alone and he had never minded, but meeting Bella had changed that. Of all his Death Eaters, she was the only one he could truly trust. Surely that made her worthy of saying his name, he thought as he gradually faded into sleep.

The next day was another busy one. The Dark Lord had several important meetings and Bellatrix was needed at them in case the people he was meeting needed any persuasion to cooperate. Then there was a strategy session with the Inner Circle of Death Eaters to discuss how the war was going and what their next steps should be.

The couple didn’t get a chance to be alone until late evening, when they retreated to their room for a quiet dinner. Once the house-elf that brought the food had left, the Dark Lord cleared his throat.

“Bellatrix, I want to talk to you about something.”  
Panic immediately flooded her.

“Oh no, you’re breaking up with me, aren’t you? What did I do? How can I—”

“No, no, nothing like that!” The Dark Lord reached out to hold both her hands. “On the contrary. I want us to be…closer.”

Bellatrix’s cheeks turned red, as panic was replaced with delight.

“As wonderful as that would be, my Lord, I’m not sure it’s possible to be closer than we already are these days.”  
“I don’t mean physically closer,” the Dark Lord said, although he gave her hands a squeeze anyway. “I’ve been thinking…I want you to use my name.”

She inhaled sharply. That was unexpected.

“My Lord, I don’t know what to say!”  
“You could start by saying my name instead of ‘my Lord,’” he said wryly.

“I—” Bellatrix’s head spun. Was this some sort of test? “I can’t. It’s forbidden.”  
“By me. And now, for you, it’s un-forbidden. Only when we’re alone, of course, or the others will get suspicious.”

“Why? Why would you let me?”

“Because you deserve to. You’re my most faithful servant. And I…I care about you.”  
“I care about you too,” Bella replied and they both knew that when she said “care” what she meant was “love” but neither mentioned it. “Greatly. But you don’t have to do this for me. I know how you are about your name.”  
“It’s not just for you,” the Dark Lord admitted. “It’s for me as well. You’re right that I’m extremely protective of my name. It’s something I’ve called myself, to represent everything I am. Of course I don’t want just _anyone_ saying it. But you’re not just anyone and you know it. And what’s the point of having a name if you can’t hear your favorite person call you it?”

“Am I really your favorite person?” Bella grinned slyly.

“ _Yes,_ but don’t go getting a big head about it.”

“Oh, I would _never,_ ” she answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“So what do you say? Will you say my name, Bellatrix?”  
Bella felt herself tremble slightly. There had been plenty of times when she’d whispered the name to herself alone, just to see how it felt in her mouth. But she’d never imagined saying it to his face.

“I don’t know if I should….”

“I _want_ you to,” he said longingly. “Please.”

“Alright.” He didn’t say please very often. She took a deep breath and whispered, “Voldemort.”  
Immediately he leaned forward and kissed her gently. She was still trembling, but more from pleasure and less from fear. There was a brilliant gleam in the Dark Lord’s—Voldemort’s eyes now.

“Voldemort,” she said again, louder and more clearly. He kissed her again, harder and for longer, then whispered, “Thank you,” his face still close to hers. She felt a slight mental nudge and dropped her mind’s usual barriers so Voldemort could share his thoughts with her. Immediately she felt all the things he couldn’t put into words: how deep his gratitude was, how lonely he had felt never hearing his name, how much he enjoyed hearing her say it.

Bellatrix smiled widely and returned some of her own feelings: how honored she was that he had deemed her worthy of this and how delightful it was to say such a magnificent name. She was sure he could probably feel the love flowing out of her as well but it didn’t seem to scare him as much as it usually did.

The next morning, after his usual routine of kissing Bella’s face until she stirred, Voldemort hissed,

“Good morning, Bellatrix.”

She blinked sleepily, not fully awake but already happy.

“Good morning my L—” She stopped herself. “Good morning, Voldemort.”

And they got up to face the day together.


End file.
